A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Conteh, Cherrnoh M. Article — Digitized Version The mano river union approach Intereconomics Suggested Citation: Conteh, Cherrnoh M. (1975) : The mano river union approach, Intereconomics, ISSN 0020-5346, Verlag Weltarchiv, Hamburg, Vol. 10, Iss. 4, pp. 102-106, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02929598 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/139179 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle You are not to copy documents for public or commercial Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. www.econstor.eu T Economic Integration in West Africa An essential strategy of development policy is to promote economic cooperation be- tween less developed countries (LDCs). The approaches of regional cooperation in West Africa show what problems this strategy may produce in LDCs with sometimes quite different historical and political development and economic structures. The Mano River Union Approach Cherrnoh M. Conteh, Hamburg * n recent years the attempts to are more geared towards build- attempt to lift some of the major I establish regional economic ing a firm industrial base in their constraints in the development cooperation among LDCs have economy than towards expecting of the national economies like been one of the main strategies growth impulses from the center the smallness of the home mar- of development policy. This pol- transmitted through the strategy kets and to widen at the same icy attempts .to reverse both the of specialization. time the scope of the gains from inward and outward looking increased international bargain- strategies of economic develop- Among the basic features of ing power. the traditional pattern of eco- ment, and aims to restructure In this connection, program- nomic development in the LDCs the traditional patterns of growth mes of economic cooperation which consequently provoked which have tended to perpetuate have been implemented through- the policy reconsideration and the dependence of the LDCs on out the Third World, in particular which reflect the constraints in the developed countries (DCs) in Latin America and Africa. Un- the traditional pattern of their in the process of international fortunately the history of re- growth are: economic development. While gional economic cooperation in there have been doubts over the [] lack of diversification of the West Africa has so far not been success of this policy approach 1, structure of productions, very rewarding and has been concern has been growing over marked by the collapse of a the widening gap of the growth [] the permanent deterioration of the terms of trade and number of multi-country schem- disparities between the LDCs es. This experience in the West and the DCs. Thus the tradi- [] the fluctuation of world mar- African subregion 2 _ to which tional forms of international trade ket prices for the main products Sierra Leone and Liberia be- have stopped being looked upon of the LDCs. long - led in their efforts for as the engine of growth, and it closer economic cooperation to has been thought that LDCs Integration Experiences the establishment of the Mano would be better off if their efforts in West Africa River Un~on (MRU). This Union German Overseas Institute. should serve as a basic lever 1 See: R. S. Bhambrl, Customs Consequently the efforts to- Unions and Underdeveloped Countries. wards regional economic co- See: industrial Development Survey, In: Economia Internationale, VoI. 15 (1962), Vol. II. UN Publications No. E 70.11.135, pp. 235-58. operation are to be taken as an p. 98. 102 INTERECONOMICS, No. 4, 1975 FORUM for the promotion of their devel- ports - largely as result of the Finally the success of the opment. Decisive for the cre- fluctuations in recorded ex- MRU goes even beyond pure ation of the MRU are the struc- ports - show both a lower and economic consideration for it tures of the economies of both a less stable rate of growth than will provide a growth point of countries, and the advantages Liberia's. Between 1965 and 1970 regional economic cooperation and possibilities for the eco- the average annual rate of in West Africa and through its nomic devel.opment these eco- growth of Liberia's recorded ex- very existence provide a base nomies gain by establishing ports showed an increase of for political solidarity for mem- some kind of complementary 9.2 p.c., as compared with 4.9 ber countries. multinational grouping - that is p.c. in Sierra Leone. On the by extending economic devel- other hand the agricultural sec- Development of the MRU opment efforts beyond national tor absorbs 80 p.c. of the total boundaries. population and accounts for 30 The MRU - named after the p.c. of the GDP of Sierra Leone Mano river which divides the Economic Structure of MRU and 20 p.c. of that of Liberia. two countries - goes beyond Member Countries Thus the dissatisfaction with the mere economic cooperation. It structure of their economies be- is a modest two country pro- Liberia and Sierra Leone in came the major concern to gov- gramme involving two sister terms of geographical size, po- ernments because the export countries, and is characterized pulation and income are small orientation of the economies by its strong socio-politico-eco- countries. The two countries in- was impeding their overall eco- nomic approach to cooperation corporate an area of approxi- nomic development, and in or- and its great attention to the mately 75,000 sq.m., and have der to promote sustained growth institutional framework towards a total population of about 5 mn the governments desired to re- the realization of its objectives. (Sierra Leone about 3 mn and duce their dependence upon tra- As a subregional organization it Liberia 2 mn). Per capita in- ditional exports. One way to limit is of practical significance and come is low in absolute terms. that dependence was a con- gives considerable scope for ini- In 1969 the per capita income centration on production for tiative to its secretariat. for Sierra Leone was recorded their own domestic markets. as US $ 169, and of Liberia as The history of this attempt at Economic cooperation be- US $ 251. The GDP of Sierra cooperation dates back as far tween Liberia and Sierra Leone Leone at factor cost in 1967 was as 1967. In sequence, Liberia and therefore provides the possibil- recorded as US$ 354 mn and Sierra Leone started discussions ities to achieve economic diver- for Liberia as US $ 330 mn 3. It on the possibility of establishing sification and to accelerate in- should be noted that Liberia is closer Ii~ks in trade and eco- dustrialization directly without a dual economy with a foreign nomic cooperation. In 1971 a waiting until the liberalization of concession sector which is lar- joint statement on economic co- I~.rgely non-existing trade in- gely isolated from the rest of operation was issued and a joint duces economic development in the economy. Trade between the Ministerial Comittee for Eco- a round-about way. Thus in the two sectors is very small, and nomic Cooperation established "Declaration" cooperative indus- their exports to other countries which met in May 1971 and ap- trialization is given as high a in Africa are minimal. Their eco- pointed a Committee of Experts priority as trade liberalization it- nomies are export-orientated to examine principles and cri- self. With its merits of making and the foreign trade pattern teria for cooperation. At the sec- it possible for firms to realize shows a number of similarities 4. ond meeting held in Freetown, internal and external economies, A decisive feature of both eco- Sierra Leone, in January 1972 the need for economic coopera- nomies is the importance of the the principles of cooperation tion is crucial for the develop- mineral extracting industries. were subsequently reaffirmed. merit strategy of the two coun- Consequently over half of their Three permanent Working Sub- tries, because of the smallness incomes is obtained from mining. committees of the Committee of of the national markets. Fur- In Sierra Leone diamonds re- Experts were established to work thermore cooperation can pre- present over 60 p.c. of total re- out the details of future co- vent a duplication of projects in corded exports, and in Liberia operation in the fields of production and investment. iron ore accounts for over 70 p.c. [] trade, industry and agricul- of total recorded exports. 3 UN Handbook of International Trade ture, and Development Statistics, Supplements 1970 and 1972. [] transport and communication The problem of